Pataki: Long Island is 'microcosm' for America

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- New York’s not a swing state, but Nassau County—home of Tuesday’s debates—is the perfect place for a town hall debate, says former New York Gov. George Pataki.

Pataki—who won three terms in part by turning out strong support on Long Island—says the local voters who will be asking the questions “very much” reflect the nation, he explained in a pre-debate visit to the spin room.

That’s despite not living in a competitive state, making more money on average than most Americans and having parochial concerns from being on the edges of New York City that often don’t sync so well with too many other parts of America.

Long Island, “is a microcosm in so many ways,” Pataki said

“It’s slightly more affluent, but then the costs are higher, so I think it balances out. As in the country, you have a growing Latino population, you have an elderly population but you also have a young entrepreneurial class,” Pataki said “That’s why I’ve always thought Long Island is not just a microcosm for the state, but for the country.”

The county has a history of electing both Republicans and Democrats over the years, including a county executive who was elected in the wave of 2009 Republican wins that were seen as the first backlash to Obama’s 2008 win.